How could the DEP sign in september Rollins permit ???

Clean energy project will create construction jobs, local tax revenues,
work for small local businesses and clean energy for about 23,000 homes/

*Boston, MA*—*December 3, 2010*—First Wind a href="http://www.firstwind.com/">http://www.firstwind.com/>,
an independent U.S.-based wind energy company, today announced that it
has obtained $98 million in financing for its 60 Megawatt (MW) Rollins
Wind project in Penobscot County, Maine.

First Wind a href="http://www.firstwind.com/">http://www.firstwind.com/> closed an $81 million
non-recourse construction loan and a $17 million letter of credit
facility for the Rollins project. Key Bank National Association
(KeyBank) and Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (Nord/LB) served as
the joint lead arrangers for the financing. In addition to the
financing, JPM Capital Corporation has executed a tax equity financing
agreement with a subsidiary of First Wind. When the project goes into
commercial operation, JPM Capital will provide long-term capital to take
out the construction loan.

“These financings are important milestones in the development and
construction of our Rollins Wind project,” said Paul Gaynor, CEO of
First Wind. “It demonstrates the strength of this project and the
viability of wind power in Maine. We appreciate the commitment of our
financial partners, which will help First Wind deliver clean, renewable
energy for Maine residents and businesses, as well as significant
economic benefits in terms of construction jobs, local tax revenues and
work for local businesses. First Wind has worked hard to develop and
build the Rollins project the right way. These financings show that the
capital markets recognize that this is a strong, well-planned project.”

Since the end of September, First Wind has raised $357 million in
financing and repaid $118 million in short-term turbine supply loans.
Financings include the funds for the Rollins project, $247 million for
the 68-turbine expansion of its Milford, Utah project, and $12 million
for its Steel Winds facility in Lackawanna, NY.

“We are very pleased to have played a leading role in First Wind’s
financing of the Rollins project,” said Andrew Redinger, Managing
Director and Head of Power & Utilities at KeyBank. “We applaud First
Wind’s dedication and the Joint Lead Arrangers’ commitment in
successfully closing this financing. The Rollins project, following the
success of First Wind’s three Maine projects, demonstrates that this is
an excellent source of low-cost renewable power for Maine ratepayers.”

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During construction, the Rollins Wind project will create about 200 jobs
and will provide significant revenue to the surrounding communities.
Four local communities near the project (Lincoln, Lee, Burlington and
Winn) are slated to receive on average, an estimated combined tax
payment of $785,000-a-year for the next 30 years – more than $24 million
in total. Maine-based contractor Reed & Reed began construction on the
project in September and is hiring mostly Maine-based businesses and
subcontractors to work on the project. The project is expected to be
online and operating sometime in the early fall of 2011.

First Wind’s Rollins project received approval from the Maine Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) on April 21, 2009. On August 6, 2009,
the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) unanimously voted in support
of the DEP permit. On October 7, 2009, the Maine Public Utilities
Commission unanimously approved a 20-year long-term contract to supply
the renewable energy generated from the Rollins Wind project to Maine
consumers. Opponents of the project have filed numerous appeals of
permits, but the project has been approved at every level, including the
Maine Supreme Court.

“First Wind has been researching the siting of this project for more
than six years and spent more than $4 million with Maine businesses to
conduct studies looking at everything from economic benefits to
environmental impacts,” Gaynor added. “We appreciate the excellent
support we’ve received from the vast majority of the people in the
region, and we look forward to being excellent community partners. This
project is being built to the highest standards in the industry and we
expect it to be used as a model for wind turbine siting for similar
projects moving forward.”

With 125 MW of capacity in Maine, First Wind owns and operates three
projects in the state, including the 42 MW Mars Hill Wind project in the
Town of Mars Hill along with the 57 MW Stetson Wind and the 26 MW
Stetson Wind II projects, both located in Washington County near the
town of Danforth. Combined, the three projects generate enough energy to
power more than 52,000 homes in the Northeast. First Wind also has
several projects in various stages of development throughout Maine and
New England.

*About First Wind
*First Wind is an independent wind energy company exclusively focused on
the development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of
utility-scale wind projects in the United States. Based in Boston, First
Wind has wind projects in the Northeast, the West and in Hawaii, with
the capacity to generate up to 504 megawatts of power and projects under
construction with the capacity to generate up to an additional 232
megawatts. For more information on First Wind, please visit
www.firstwind.com a href="http://www.firstwind.com/">http://www.firstwind.com/> or follow us on Twitter
@FirstWind.

###

*For more information, contact: *

John Lamontagne

First Wind

Director of Corporate Communications

617-960-9521

jlamontagne@firstwind.com

*John Lamontagne*